As it turns out, the polling institute began as a class project in the late 1980s, but it rapidly grew into something much more: a powerful brand-builder (and development tool) for the school, whose reputation and enrollment keep growing in lockstep.

If you’re a small company fighting for attention with much larger competitors, take a lesson from Quinnipiac: Stand for something unique and let the attention come to you.

Before you can build a brand reputation, you have to have a reputation for something to build your brand upon.